Shaped Poetry Glenn Todd (editor) and Andrew Hoyem

TITLE: A Suite of Typographic Prints Chronicling This Literary Form from 300 BC to the Present, edited by Glenn Todd, Arion Press, 1981._____DESCRIPTION: Limited edition, one of 300 copies. Elephant folio-size clamshell box covered with black cloth measuring 16 x 12 x 1.5 inches. A suite of 30 typographic prints, each representing an individual poem - 29 of the poems are on individual sheets; the thirtieth is composed of ten panels, 15 x 11 inches, bound in a circular accordion-fold. Each poem is printed on a different handmade paper in a wide variety of typefaces and in a variety of different colors, all of this contained withing a thick black paper folder. Companion volume is 16 x 12 inches, 32 pages, printed from Monotype Times New Roma andd handset Weiss titling on Ruysdael paper, bound in stiff black wrappers. The 30 individual pieces and Companion (commentary) Volume all contained in the black cloth-covered clamshell box reinforced with grey foam along the edges. A plexiglass frame for display of individual poems is included. CONDITION: Geometric bands of fading to the front of the clamshell box (see photo). Box is otherwise in fine condition. All 30 individual sheets/poems and the Companion Volume are in fine condition. _____DISCUSSION: Shaped Poetry is an unusual and interesting niche within the world of poetry in which the poem is deliberately designed to be printed in a shape which is relevant to the subject matter of the poem. This edition is a tour-de-force of private press printing with each poem printed on a different handmade paper in a unique type selected from the Arion Press collection of two hundred foundry types. Several of the letterfroms are rare, seldom seen outside a type specimen book. The informative Companion Volume begins with a chapter written by editor Glenn Todd describing the genre of shaped poetry. This is followed by a detailed discussion of each poem with an editor's Note describing the history and context of each poem and a Printer's Note by Andrew Hoyem. This copy includes the plexiglass display frame, often missing in this set. NOTE: This is an oversized set which will require additional shipping cost domestically. International shipping cost to the United Kingdom and Europe is $75 U.S. dollars.